The response to the possibility of establishing the first chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners has been very positive, according to Marion Syversen, president of Norumbega Financial in Hampden.

Syversen is hosting a meeting for women interested in forming a NAWBO chapter at noon Friday, Feb. 13, at Miller’s Restaurant on Main Street in Bangor.

To qualify for membership in NAWBO, a woman must be a sole proprietor, partner or corporate owner with an interest in building strong business relationships, promoting economic development and affecting public policy.

The only dues-based national organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs in all types of businesses, according to Syversen, NAWBO has chapters in almost every metropolitan area of the United States.

“I’m very excited,” she said of the number of calls she has received about the organization.

“This is going to offer [women] something that other groups are not offering, and that’s an opportunity for networking and education.”

Should the effort to organize succeed, this will become the first NAWBO chapter in the state.

The benefits of joining the organization include “the availability of a mastermind group that is kind of your personal board of directors,” Syversen explained about the steering committee that will be selected by the group.

“They will represent every facet of business from finance to leadership, marketing and direction,” she said.

Syversen reported that the most recent statistics from the Center for Women’s Business Research indicated that in 2002 there were an estimated 35,081 majority-owned, privately-held, women-owned firms in Maine, accounting for 27 percent of privately held firms statewide.

She said that women-owned firms in Maine employ more than 31,000 people and generate nearly $4.1 billion in sales.

“And, by all accounts, women-owned firms are on the rise in Maine and nationally,” Syversen added.

If you are interested, you are urged to attend the meeting, or you are welcome to call Syversen during regular business hours at 862-2952.

Ted Hansen, professor of music at Texas A&M University in College Station, was recently honored by that state’s legislature for “excellence in the field of music.”

Hansen will perform “An Evening of Solo Jazz Piano” at 7 p.m. Friday Feb. 13, at First Baptist Church on High Street in Belfast.

Sponsored by Senior College, University of Maine Hutchinson Center, Hansen appears in tribute to his late brother, Don Hansen, a Senior College founding member who died in 2001.

Honored for six consecutive years by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, this distinguished composer’s works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on National Educational Television.

Tickets are $10 for Senior College members and $12 for nonmembers.

They can be purchased at the Fertile Mind Bookshop on Main Street in Belfast or by calling the Hutchinson Center at 338-8033. No tickets will be sold at the door.

More information can be obtained by calling the Hutchinson Center.

Lucille Cardin and members of Veazie Congregational Church invite you to a special Valentine’s night supper 4:45-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at the church, 1404 State St. in Veazie.

Church members hope you and your special someone will enjoy their “most delicious baked beans” along with hot dogs, brown bread, coleslaw, salads, casseroles and desserts.

You might win a door prize of homemade candy; you are sure to delight in a variety of chocolate desserts; and you can sing along or just listen to your favorite love songs.

Admission is $6 for adults and $3.50 for children.

Hunger relief organizations in five states will benefit from a Hannaford fund-raiser running now through the end of the month.

In Maine, the benefiting organization is Good Shepherd Food Bank, which is headquartered in Auburn and has a distribution site in Brewer.

Similar facilities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont will also benefit from the program.

During the “Have a Heart” fund-raiser, customers can make contributions as part of their food bill through donation coupons at the registers in the amount of $2 or $5.

All proceeds will be donated to local food banks.

Hannaford officials chose February, according to a press release, because it is “a month when holiday good will and generosity have largely expired, home heating bills are high, needy families are facing the challenges of Northeast winters and contributions are typically down.”

To kick off the campaign, Hannaford donated $5,000.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.